And if I am ever ready to be lit up with inspiration, there is an immediate point of ignition from which creative thought, accompanied by corresponding action, is loosed - like rocket fuel. It causes an explosion, and I cannot but be inspired to be transformed into ‘the creator’.

But the fuel best foraged for such momentous events is a life filled with expectation to receive. That alone prepares the recipient for the flash.

For this one has tendered the tinder during the dry times of perspiration and persistence. For this is often the fuel that paves the way for the flood of inspiration that is set to follow; a flood of fire that will engulf all in its path.

It is a consuming burning mass of uniquity’s flame that in turn will then send forth embers designed to inspire one here and another there, so they too can enjoy the eternal flame that has been lit in the hearts of men and women throughout the ages.

For we are as Olympian runners passing the flame one to another until it reaches its destination - the hearts and souls of men.

Refuse to stand as cardboard puppets. Breathe fire. Be as a molten volcano overflowing its rim. Light the candle. Strike the match. Be fired. Be an inferno.

Be inspired. Be an inspiration, and fan ‘the fire of inspire’ to lift you higher and higher. For that same flame that burns within you will warm the multitudes who so desperately seek more than just the cold and leftover morsels that a life lacking in inspiration would only ever offer them to eat.

And with it comes intuition - ‘the immediate awareness of a concept of truth that is achieved without perception, memory, or reasoning.’ Intuition foresees disaster and creates a plan that will take a higher road. Intuition perceives the character of another from which, as a result of that intuition, an individual chooses to include that one in their inner circle or either treat them with respect while at the same time bidding them goodbye.

Intuition plans. Intuition perceives. Intuition hears. Intuition observes. Intuition silently surveys, and from that observatory on Wisdom Hill makes sound decisions that positively impacts both this generation and the generations to come.

But intuition to most of us doesn’t come naturally, but requires the assistance of a school master called Experience to sharpen it as a mighty tool that it is designed to be; to see beneath the surface, to understand the reason why, and to identify and clarify the purpose. It is the rudder that guides the vessel through treacherous and rocky waters. It is the pilot of your soul and the protector of your heart.

Wise is he or she who spends time developing a friendship with their intuitive being. For long shall they live in the land of opportunity and peace, if they prioritise wisdom in their lives.

From my balcony the other day I watched as a black mass moved beneath the waters heading south, not far from the shore. Then appeared the fins of a pod of dolphins feeding in a splashing frenzy on that same shoal of fish.  Soon the feeding party was joined by a flock of hovering and diving seagulls who partook of the crumbs left over from the dolphin’s dining table. But then within minutes they were gone. Spontaneous in appearance and spontaneous in disappearance. And yet what joy it gave both myself and my family as we accidentally came upon this scene.

And then another time with frisbee in hand one day and kite the next, splashes of laughter were shared by all involved on the beach amidst the wind and the waves - all because of a spontaneous act of providing these tools of fun.

Life at times can be too ordered and too planned, and yet if we pause to capture the spontaneity that can be grasped at any moment - creativity can be suddenly unleashed.

For it is there that you can at times even find yourself suddenly face to face with God himself. For He is the deity who appears in the moments - and it is quite often there that you will discover Him in the giggle and in the spontaneous play.

But the words of the unwise will do exactly the same. I have actually overheard two particular people who have said such things as, ‘I will not live to an old age’, and another ‘If I ever lose my wealth there will be nothing for me to live for.’ Those two alone are already dead.

Well the good book states that ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue.’ And most people tend to underestimate the power of the words that they speak.

So does that then place me in a seat of judgment of those who have suffered the consequences of bad speech? No, I am simply an observer and have been observing lives, in relation to this matter, over the past decades. I have heard speaking and then observed the results of such statements.

So  let wisdom declare: put a watch over your mouth, put a guard over your tongue, and train your mouth to speak life giving words and resist the urge to unleash death upon your bright future.

For it is a universal truth that when you hear what people say, you see what people is.

Now John has an operatic background, and at one point, early on in his career, was the understudy for Placido Domingo who became world-renowned as one of  ‘The Three Tenors’.

John recounted some advice that he was given by the great singer that rang true to me and it went like this:

Whenever you come to the opera house to do what we love to do - you leave your hat, your coat and your ego with the concierge at the door.   When you have performed you pick up your hat, your coat but leave your ego there. It is now up to your audience and the press to tell you how good you were.

No wonder he became such a world famous performer who commanded such love and respect.

And as I have previously written - ‘your trumpet is always only for others to blow.’

So what do we do with them?

Love them.

But love comes in many different packages and must never be confused with the Hollywood passionate romance type of love. It is much bolder than what is presented on the silver screen, and as a leader - one who loves others - you will at times have to develop the following five fruits - in the way you express your love for others.

1. Allow Them To Fail - The greatest teacher is often failure. So let them fail, and even at times let them fall. But be there to dust them off and pick them up with an encouraging word.

2. Speak The Truth - Iron sharpens iron. That means that there are times when sparks will fly. Speaking honestly to a wise recipient though will yield great rewards for all in the future.

3. Chastise In Love - If you do have to correct, then follow the Pareto Principle. 20% correction and then 80% uplift and encouragement. And do it in private.

4. Be There - When they’re succeeding, be there, and when they are failing, be there. Be the one who is there when everyone else has scattered. Your commitment will gain great respect.

5. Let Them Go - Sometimes there is nothing you can do, if someone is not willing to grow or to change. So the best thing that you can do is to let them fly in another sky backed by your prayers and goodwill.

But through it all - even though you may hate what they do or not do - love them anyway.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’

‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.

‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.

‘Yes,’ the farmer replied proudly.

‘I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy  If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we  both will be proud of.’ And that he did.

Farmer Fleming’s  son attended the very best schools and in time graduated from St. Mary’s  Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout  the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman?

Lord Randolph Churchill

His son’s name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Source Unknown.

So here are a few tips to enable you to position yourself time and time again for success.

1) Have Faith In God – I personally have faith in the God of the Bible. And that faith is simply expressed in my trust and a confidence in my Heavenly Father. So much so that I stake my life and my very existence on Him. In my life I have seen Him supply my greatest needs time and time again that proves to me that He is personally interested in my well being. I talk to Him as my friend and my mentor.

2) Have Faith In Your Strengths – I have consistently needed to identify my strengths and learn to operate in those strengths if I wished to walk in success and satisfaction. The first thing was to identify them. To do this I simply needed to recognize those things that I do naturally and the things that I have a passion for. And then I needed to do them on a consistent basis – ever seeking to improve along the way.

3) Have Faith In Others – Then I have at the same time learnt to delegate my weaknesses. This has been helped by gradually surrounding myself with a strong support network of people who can help me in these weak areas. Mentors are in this group. And the older I get the greater need for these is becoming more evident in my life. These individuals are strong individuals who assist, support and guide me in the daily decision and activity process that make up my life.

So no matter where I find myself in the world geographically or financially, this faith currency is the currency I use on a daily basis, and it sufficiently sustains me.

Try using it yourself, for it is of eternal value.

Strong people are those who have identified their strengths and use them on a daily basis to add value to their lives and to the lives of those around them.

There was a skinny little kid showing off to some of his little friends the muscles that were developing in his skinny forearm.

One of the bigger kids mocked him saying, ‘Hey Robbo, are you trying to break the record for the muscle that hangs down the lowest?’

All the kid’s laughed.

Unmoved, with the biggest possible voice that he could muster, he looked at all the kids eyeball to eyeball declaring, ‘My dad says that even though I may not have much muscle on the outside yet, I’ve got heaps of BIG muscles on the inside. And if I keep working out, one day every one of those muscles are going to pop out everywhere all over my body.’

No one had an answer to his response.

So be like the little boy and take the strength of the message found within this article. Apply it to your life and be the powerhouse of possibility that you were created to be.

If we’re ever going to achieve anything of significance in this lifetime, we must have a purpose GREATER than ourselves. It is this PURPOSE that will thrust us out of the world of mediocrity and into the world of the winner and the achiever.

So how do we find our purpose? Good question.

There are probably a million answers to that question, but let me share from my own experience. Maybe a bit of that will help you to discover your own personal strategy. All of us are different, but we can at least learn certain principles from another’s life.

The first thing that I did was this: I decided that I was going to be proud of who I was and of what I could do. I also decided that I was a person who had great value. I didn’t get concerned as to what others said or thought about me. I began to develop my own BELIEF in my own abilities. THIS WAS IMPORTANT.

Once that was firmly fixed in my mind, I began to identify my STRENGTHS. Now what are strengths? They’re the things that come to you naturally and the things that you do with a natural flair. You actually enjoy doing them.

STRONG PEOPLE USE THEIR STRENGTHS

So, this is what I did. I took a piece of blank paper and drew a line down the middle. On the left hand side I wrote my strengths (the things I’m naturally good at) and on the right hand side I wrote my weaknesses (the things I don’t find easy to do). Once I had done that I started to major on my strengths in everything I did. As I could, I started to delegate my weaknesses to others who were more gifted in those areas. Let’s face it! We can’t do everything.

It took me nearly ten years to finally realize this, and even today, as I face new situations and challenges, I constantly ask myself the question, ‘What are my strengths?’ I find that I am the most happiest when I am doing what I love doing (thinking and writing). For me, these things are easy to do and I get great joy out of it.

Because I’ve learnt to ask this question constantly, I now, AFTER MANY YEARS OF LEARNING, make my living out of my strengths. At the same time I delegate my weaknesses. The result is this: I do what I love to do every day of my life. WORK to me HAS BECOME FUN because I’m using MY STRENGTHS.

So in a nutshell, here is one way that can help you to clearly DISCOVER your PURPOSE.

1. IDENTIFY YOUR STRENGTHS
2. IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESSES
3. MAJOR ON YOUR STRENGTHS
4. DELEGATE YOUR WEAKNESSES

Follow up this simple written exercise by CONSISTENT ACTION. Watch how you will start to live with GREATER ENERGY and GREATER PURPOSE than you have ever done before.

Motivational Memo: PEOPLE with PURPOSE are POWERHOUSES with POSSIBILITY.

In the design of your life it is important to consider those things that you will allow in your life, as well as those things that you will not allow. By ascertaining these things early in your life, confusion will have no hold on the decision making processes that you are faced with on a regular basis.

When in business you too need to determine the boundaries within which you will conduct your business, whether it be the terms and conditions of doing business, the way you collect payments, the way you deliver your product and services, the way you deal with complaints or even the way you conduct customer service.

On the flip side, you also need to have a clear understanding of what business transactions you will not undertake. Sometimes by defining what you won’t do will in fact be the most liberating. You are then free with great clarity to pursue the other 99% of business that is awaiting you, and in that way you will never find yourself in a vulnerable situation where you are being tripped up, and even possibly destroyed by the 1% that you should have rejected in the first place.

For it only takes a single straw to break the camel’s back. So deal with the straw at the start of business and burn it by the power of identification, clear communication and boundary setting.